JCC 1: The Athenian Empire

Agendum

"Developing a comprehensive strategy to establish Athenian hegemony in the Oikoumene."

Delegation ScaleSingle Delegation

Session AttendanceCOMPULSORY

Committee Overview

Long before the Oikoumene developed legal literature to govern its hallowed expanses, it was governed by sheer power - a power of cataclysmic magnitudes which disheveled the very firmament of the world and shaped it into a hegemony. Amidst the myopic view of the Oikoumene in Peloponnesia, hidden adders wait their chance to strike down the mighty empires and lay siege to the remnants of the shadows of past glory. Hence, amidst the mayhem of politicking chaos, the Athenian Empire must defend its paramountcy throughout the illuminated abysses of ephemeral world of 410BCE.

The best delegate of this committee shall not be someone who merely pens down fantasy novels into communiques but someone who truly understands the magnanimity of negotiations. Resolution of conflicts in a world not yet hindered through the vicy grips of forced legal nuances must be explored through the utmost proliferation of logical diplomatic dialogue and military dominance. The best delegate of this committee shall be someone who might reach the closest realisation of transforming the worst of enemies into the best of allies through sheer dominance and lobbying.

Committee Bulletins & Updates

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25th Mounichion, Year of the Archon Glaucippus

Pre-Committee Update 1

One of the guards near the Athenian walls saw a mysterious cloaked figure. Upon approaching him, the guard recognised the figure to be the famous orator and public figure, Critias. He saw the figure leaving Athens proper and riding towards Decelea and an encampment there. A mysterious red flag was seen being raised at Decelea which had a golden letter lambda. After several hours, another guard spotted the same cloaked figure re-entering Athens from a different side. When the guard requested the figure to explain his entrance, the figure replied, ‘I am answerable to none for we have killed God, leaving me to rule this infernal hole.’ The guard noted that the figure was clearly inebriated.

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25th Mounichion, Year of the Archon Glaucippus

Pre-Committee Update 2

Several foot soldiers who fought in the Battle of Cyzicus reported that the famous turncoat general after defeating the Spartans, allegedly held a meeting with the Persians. He was seen entering a Persian tent with his aide, Antiochus. This matter was reported directly to Athens immediately. Further investigations led by individual soldiers led to no avail, as the Persian camp was heavily guarded and protected. The turncoat general had left no instructions to his second-in-commands before leaving, and the Athenian soldiers were left with virtually no instructions or order.

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25th Mounichion, Year of the Archon Glaucippus

Pre-Committee Update 3

HADES: “Delegates - Behold your Fate. My acolytes newly gather in my temple, The Necromenteion. My worshipers have gathered, because of the wars led by He who Calls himself Cleophon. I command over them, full control. My worshipers know my desires, and leave no stone unturned in appeasing me. Know, that black clouds of death loom nigh.”

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26TH MOUNICHION, YEAR OF THE ARCHON GLACIPPUS

COMMITTEE UPDATE 4

Delegates, Athens is rocked with instability as a shocking discoveries have been unearthed. The Agora had been tipped off by an anonymous source regarding some alleged illegal contraband that was being held by some Athenians. In light of this information, Athenian guards were dispatched to examine the foresaid locations. Fragments of mysterious statues had been unearthed and when they were examined, they appeared to be shards of the Herms statues, which had been previously defaced and mutilated in a massive religious scandal.
The fragments were discovered in the homes of four prominent Athenians – Alcibiades, Andocides Critias and fragments were also discovered in the home of Niceratus, formerly owned by the Athenian general Nicias. They had not been hidden, but rather, it seems that these fragments were openly being kept as trophies on display. Following a party in these homes, these fragments had been discovered on display and it was promptly reported.

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27TH MOUNICHION, YEAR OF THE ARCHON GLACIPPUS

COMMITTEE UPDATE 5

HADES - I am Hades. I am the Unseen. I no longer reign in the shadows of Olympus. The influence of the underworld, fuelled by the sacrifice of war, has at last breached the surface.
My disciples worship me and they call me the Divine - identified as the ruler of the Underworld, me. They don the black robes, calling themselves the Daemon, and their numbers grow in haste. The demagogue Athenian leads them all - Ngolo Kante, Harry Maguire, Hulk Hogan, Carvajal and the most charismatic of them all, Hugh Janus. From the ports of Samos to the fields of Naxos, and from the straits of Byzantium to the hills of Laconia, their black influence rises. Strange omens plague Laconia as the enslaved rise against their masters. Large congregations of Messenians, also robed in black, have been reported, and mysterious figures stalk Lacedaemonian garrisons in stealth. They gather in caves, forests and places unseen yet their presence is felt. The Laconian farmland burns as black fumes blanket the sky. Crops and grains vanish into thin air, yet the enslaved seem to grow and flourish.

Hades’s speech ends here.

One of the Daemons, who was caught by in the Attica, was interrogated by some commoners. Before the commoners could solicit any answers to the questions asked, the man, who was robed in black, made the following statement.
"THOSE WHO SPEAK BLACK TONGUE SHALL RAISE BELOW."
Following this, the man bit off his tongue, killing himself.

Simultaneously, it also seems, a power rises in the Laconian coast. The mysterious group of Grapians, seem to have started worshipping the god Poseidon. They fervently worship the God Poseidon and they anoint their gods with seawater.
Sails have been noticed near Laconia bearing the banner of Poseidon, and a shepherd near the coast reported large vessels, larger than the average trireme, sailing around the coast. The Grapians, under their leader Lysander, appear to be close to rebuilding their naval might. The Grapians call for the fall of the Athenian Empire, claiming that the Athenians have failed to appease Poseidon, as they succumb to the dark influence.
Another witness, claims that he had witnessed intricate ceremonies and fanatic sacrifices along the coast.

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6TH THARGELION, YEAR OF THE ARCHON GLACIPPUS

COMMITTEE UPDATE 6

We have just received a report from a naval officer, under the command of Thrasybulus, who was deployed in Cyzicus. He revealed information about alleged interactions between the ‘turncoat general’, ‘the turncoat general’s’ aide Antiochus, and the Persians. The naval officer, whose identity remains confidential for the sake of his safety, is a verified and trusted informant who had been reporting critical information to Athens. He sent a hastily worded letter to the Epistates and the Prytaneis explaining the information which he had received.
Transcript of the letter :

LETTER

This letter is of utmost urgency and importance, as its contents may very well threaten our chain of command and our interests.
I have been keeping a close eye on the turncoat general, and I managed to overhear some conversations by single handedly sneaking past the Persian guards.
From what I have overheard, it appears that the ‘turncoat general’ was speaking to the ‘Persian satrap’.
The turncoat general promised the entirety of Ionia and Hellespont to the Persians, claiming he had been endowed with the power to negotiate on behalf of the entirety of Athens. He claimed that he had convinced twenty members of the Athenian Empire to surrender Ionia, and soon, he would convince them to surrender the Hellespont as well.
He also spoke of Athenian ships at Samos, our defensive fortifications which had been built by Phrynichus, and Athenian plans in the Hellespont.
He also demanded gold from the Persians in exchange for this information.

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16TH THARGELION, YEAR OF THE ARCHON GLACIPPUS

COMMITTEE UPDATE 7

Delegates, while you were busy fighting among themselves, four individuals have come to negotiate. Through Alcibiades’s negotiations, the Persians have come to this Ad Hoc Joint Crisis Committee of the Athenian Empire.
The four individuals are:-
1) Tissaphernes
2) Pharnabazus
3) Cyrus the Persian Prince
4) The King of Kings himself, the ruler of the Medes, former conqueror of the Hellas , King Darius II

Chairpersons

Animikh Chatterjee

Aaryav Kohli

Chairpersons' Proclamation

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“Five minutes after you're born, they decide your name, nationality, religion, and sect, and you spend the rest of your life defending things you didn't choose.”
- Arthur Schopenhauer

Coming to things one has to defend which they didn't choose, nothing fits the description better than the allotments for the Athenian Empire. A policy, a legacy and even a dogmatism, completely alien to the present world is almost laconically vested in the delegates representing them in our committee. However, what stands unironically a conjecture of truth is the fact that it was exactly the same set of beliefs decided for the real life allotments too back in 5th Century BCE - a set of beliefs they never chose but were expected to defend regardless.

Model United Nations sprang up as an academic exercise from the hallowed portals of Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania in 1947. Over the following 8 decades the very essence of this exercise has undergone multiple modifications. Thus, when we stand at this exigent of the Calcutta Circuit, one must note the sheer testament to the original academic mission when most conflicts are resolved through doubling down on not so celebratory fireworks across international borders.

My favourite class teacher once told me, "MUNs are nothing but the bourgeoise children pretending to save the world while sitting in A.C. Rooms," and reflecting back on my own experience, I couldn't exactly shake off the guilt either. Why do we do this...why do we engage in such an exercise? JCC1 - The Athenian Empire serves to answer that very question - whether 2 socio-political nations on the worst of terms can resolve disputes in the best of ways in an era not influenced by the vicy grips of forced legal nuances but unadulterated logic.

The Athenian Empire shall serve the most definite purpose of testing your research, lobbying, paperwork and resolution ability...other than your sanity at times. With this, we welcome you to determine the fate of the Oikoumene guided through your logic - a modern renaissance of an ancient history.

Until June,
Animikh Chatterjee and Aaryav Kohli,
Co-Chairpersons,
athenianempire.xmun26@gmail.com,
X-MUN 2026.